Vintage 2012 preview

As August opens we enter the phase of the wine grape vintage when winemakers start to wring their hands and grape growers start to look at long term weather forecasts and anxiously eye their crop on a daily basis, watching for the desired progress. The anxiety level for all in the domestic wine industry is even more acute in 2012 given the challenging and for some disastrous back to back vintages of 2010 and 2011.

A release tasting note we received this week from one of our favorite producers in California is stark illustration of just how tough the past two years have been. The winery is currently releasing their 2010 Cab Franc and 2010 Merlot, the harvest dates were from Oct. 18, through Nov. 6 for the Merlot and a startling Nov. 5, through the 9th for the Franc, and this year the Franc was "firmed up" with the addition of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot - a first for this winery which we consider the premier producer of Cab Franc in the states. For historical perspective the last time we remember harvest dates this late for full bodied reds was the "El Nino" year of 1998 when some notable wineries were harvesting red grapes at Thanksgiving.

So after two years of incredibly tough farming the 2012 growing season so far looks normal. It appears right now that harvest in California may actually be early! The weather has been mostly warm and dry. Verasion, the turning of red wine grapes from green to purple, actually was completed early during the third week of July. The bunches are well set, no shatter from earlier in the year and farmers may actually drop a small amount of fruit as the year goes along.

Also in July growers were hedging vineyards to further strengthen the vines, and now are beginning to thin the canopy on vines that get morning sun while maintaining the canopy that faces afternoon sun. As we get later into the season canopy management becomes crucial in response to the heat. If it gets very hot the grapes need to be shaded, while if the weather cools too much the canopy will need to be cut back to spur final ripening. Given the late heat spell that hit California growers in 2010 post canopy cut back all of the farmers are likely to be cautious in how aggressively they cut back the vines.

In Washington and Idaho it has also been a near normal year so far. The heavy rains and thunderstorms hit mostly after "bud break," so while the spring was wet the rains at that time were gentle enough to not result in "shatter," where heavy rains damage the developing grape bunches. The thunderstorms that happened later occurred before verasion when the grapes are less likely to absorb large amounts of water resulting in mold and bunch rot. These long late summer days with highs in the 80s and low 90s and lows in the 50s are nirvana for wine grapes, and are also greeted with joyous relief by farmers and winemakers throughout the state.

We now enter the most important and worrisome part of the growing year though. As we mentioned above canopy management is all important, and the consistency of weather is vital to the crop finishing strongly. The size of the harvest will also be determined in the next month to six weeks. It is likely that farmers will err on the side of harvesting more tonnage than less after the last two years when conditions were most challenging and the crops were tiny by historical standards.

The first white and rose wines from 2012 will be released next spring and we look forward to a normal vintage, and hope for great wines after a couple of tough years. In the mean time we urge wine consumers to try 2010 and 2011 vintage wines before they buy them just as we do. While there are good wines to be had from both years, there are more that do not measure up so we urge caution, and as always suggest consulting your favorite wine professional about wines from these years.

North Idaho Wine Rodeo Note: Tickets for the summer tasting of the North Idaho Wine Rodeo will be available for purchase starting this Tuesday at the dinner party and the Fair grounds. The event is Wednesday, Aug. 22 from 5-8 p.m. on the fairgrounds at Foundation Park. Tickets are $25; include admission to the fair and the tasting, your logo wine glass and the first five wine tastes.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and writes frequently for the online version of Coeur d'Alene Magazine at www.cdamagazine.com. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com.